One of the skills anyone needs to be comfortable with is taking good notes. People have many different ways to do it. Some scribble in a note book, some type into a notepad on their computer, some record them in a portable tape recorder. It doesn’t matter what way you do it, you need to be comfortable with it. Once you can take notes without thinking about it, then don’t let someone convince you to do it another way because it’s “better”. Better is very personal and what’s better for THEM might not be better for YOU.

Recently, I was interviewing a client about their needs and talking about how a software system could support their needs. I was taking notes as I went along in my journal in a mind map. About 1/2-way through the interview, the person asked me about the notes I was taking. She had never seen a mind map and was interested because I seemed to be moving around on the page.

I explained the basic process

FIRST - up front I do my preparation for the interview. The Subject is at the center of the page and on one side, I list issues I want to be sure I cover. I may expand some of these with specific questions or facts.

SECOND - I make a list of questions I’d like to get answered while I’m with the interviewee.

I try not to over-prepare, but I do make sure I’m familiar enough going in that I can talk about it easily. The preparatory notes are all very condensed and are reminders, not the detail of what I’m going to say.

When I start the interview, I have a very basic mind map which has reminders of the things I want to cover, the questions I want to ask, and any relevant material about the interviewee and/or their company I need to remember:

I usually start out with black ink and use one side for the information. As the interview goes on, I’ll add notes in a contrasting pen color. I might have notes taken from a phone interview in blue and from a face-to-face interview in red:

I also usually start on the LEFT page of a two page facing set so I have room to expand into on the right side if more happens than expected.

As I’m noting issues, I try to summarize them in short phrases, single words, and so forth. I try to link issues together and get as much down as I can. As each new idea gets added to the web and linked into place, my picture gets better and better, so I start reflecting back my understanding, discussing what I’m hearing and asking for corrections so that I’m sure I’ve got it right before we finish.

As soon as possible after we’re done, I sit down with the notes and try to expand them. If possible, transcribing them into another form in my computer. I might use a mind mapping software package or an outliner to enter the information in a structured fashion and to allow me to expand on each idea and issue in more detail.

Once I’ve got a computer readable summary in some form, I write a Thank You letter with a summary of the conversation and the important points raised. This does wonders for confirming commitments and clarifying information.

Categories: Skills